


The Advantage of Being Stressed

by yuffiehighwind



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Explicit Language, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Season 2, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:44:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuffiehighwind/pseuds/yuffiehighwind
Summary: It had been a week since the bathroom incident, and Richard could finally look Jared in the eye. He behaved more or less the same and Richard envied his ability to file it away and move past it. So they hooked up in a public bathroom? So what? Crazy things like that happened all the time.Takes place right after my fanfic "Any Time, Any Place." Originally written in July 2015 during Season 2 but I never posted it.
Relationships: Jared Dunn/Richard Hendricks
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	The Advantage of Being Stressed

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this in July 2015 right after posting my other fanfic, "[Any Time, Any Place](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4337912)," and posted it on my Tumblr blog with this all-caps disclaimer: "IT IS 3 A.M. WHERE I AM."
> 
> I dunno why I'm posting this now in November 2019 - I guess nostalgia because the show is ending.
> 
> The line about “being tackled by a skeleton” is said about Zach’s character Gabe, from “The Office.”

It had been about a week since the bathroom incident, and Richard could finally look Jared in the eye. Things had been awkward between them, though only on Richard’s end. Jared behaved more or less the same, and Richard envied his ability to file away something like that and move past it. So they hooked up in a public bathroom? So what? Crazy things like that happened all the time.

_Not to me._

It wasn’t long before Hooli hit them with a lawsuit accusing them of stealing intellectual property. _Hooli _was the one who stole _their_ algorithm! They had to prove it, though, but had no money for lawyers and barely any money to keep Pied Piper afloat. Raviga backed off after Laurie took over, and Richard was at the end of his rope. He felt anxious more often, couldn’t sleep, and when he _did_ sleep he woke up drenched in sweat. All the guys were worried about their future, but Richard carried the weight of it all. He felt responsible for every mess (even the ones that weren’t his fault), and Jared noticed.

Jared always noticed.

He’d bring Richard coffee in the morning - a personal gesture that, unfortunately, turned into a group coffee run - and tea if his stomach needed settling. He anticipated Richard’s every need, and the second time “it” happened, it was Jared’s idea.

* * *

After another long, difficult day of both coding and trying to problem-solve their impending financial ruin, Erlich commented, “You look like shit, Richard. Like a shit _took_ a shit, and you were that shit.”

Richard responded, “I’m just really stressed out, okay?” and Jared caught his eye. As he approached, Richard half-expected another chamomile tea. Erlich sometimes offered to smoke him up, but pot only made Richard paranoid. Milder drugs, like tea, would have to do.

“Richard,” Jared said. “Would you like some help relieving that stress?”

Richard blushed and looked away. He hoped Erlich hadn’t overheard, even though the question was so innocent and only he and Jared knew its double meaning.

“Um, uh…Sure, um, let’s…let’s meet in my room. I’m gonna finish up what I’m doing here first.”

Several minutes passed, and although Richard wasn’t even close to done with the program he was working on, he slinked off to his bedroom. No one noticed or seemed to care.

Jared was sitting at Richard’s desk reading something on his phone. When Richard entered, he jumped to his feet.

“I wasn’t sure if you meant now or later, so I waited here for you. I didn’t touch anything.”

“It’s fine. Look, what exactly did you mean by ‘relief’?”

Jared frowned. _Uh-oh_.

“What did _you_ think I meant by 'relief’?”

Richard stepped closer, not quite meeting Jared’s eyes. (They were so, _so_ blue, and why had he never noticed that before?) The awkward sexual tension had returned.

“Um…”

Unable to come out and _say_ it, Richard mimed a hand job. Jared smiled shyly.

“Do you want me to…?”

Richard nodded. He would probably have whacked off before bed, anyway, and who turns down a free hand job?

“Would you prefer to sit, stand, or lie down?” Jared asked.

Unsure, Richard leaned on the desk and said, “Let’s…let’s try standing up?” It had worked before. This time was all hands, but Jared’s lubed fist released Richard’s tension well enough.

Not wanting to be overheard, neither of them spoke. There was no sound but Richard’s heavy breathing and the slight fapping noise of skin on skin. The situation was strange, but not as strange as it could have been. Just one (possibly gay or bisexual) guy helping out another (incredibly sexually frustrated) guy out.

_Or an employee servicing his boss._

Other than the secrecy, the hottest thing about it was Jared’s quiet command, “Now release.”

* * *

Their third time was in the private unisex bathroom of a coffee shop in downtown Palo Alto after checking out another of Hanneman’s insane promotional stunts. This one was a special drink called “The Pied Piper,” really just a mint frappe with green whipped topping. Essentially a Shamrock Shake, but triple the price, Hanneman couldn’t get Starbucks to adopt it but the smaller shops agreed once he threw them enough cash. Russ Hanneman left Richard more angry than stressed, but Jared’s effective stress management improved any mood.

Their fourth and fifth times took place at Noah’s guesthouse, where Jared now lived. It was quiet and private, a respite from the loudness of the Hacker Hostel. There was no chance of discovery, and Richard could really relax, once he got used to Noah’s pet ferrets staring at him.

Their sixth time was riskier. They were in the Aviatovan. Jared was going to pick up supplies for Gilfoyle’s servers when Richard offered to tag along. Richard and Jared no longer got strange looks when hanging out together - sneaking off to “manage stress” or just sitting in the kitchen talking. Richard found himself not only needing Jared’s “help” but also wanting Jared’s company. So he took the driver’s seat and they left.

Of course there was a problem: a bounced check and a denied credit card. This time there were waterworks. Richard hated Hooli _and_ Hanneman, Gavin Belson and himself. Richard pulled the van over and ducked in the back, and Jared followed. Because Jared always followed.

* * *

Their seventh time, again in Richard’s room, he climbed up to his loft and they lay side by side, Jared’s feet hanging off the edge.

“You’re doing so good, Richard. Release all that tension for me. That’s it…”

No one but Jared Dunn could make dirty talk sound so polite.

“Almost there. Now _release_.”

It worked every time.

One day, while Jared sat working in the kitchen, Richard quietly asked him, “Why do you say that stuff? When we’re…you know.”

“Because you respond well to it,” Jared replied, without looking up. “And because it makes you climax sooner.”

Richard frowned. He wasn’t sure he liked the implications of that. But Jared smiled at him, like he knew a secret Richard didn’t - (_Like he knows me better than I know myself) - _and he couldn’t stay mad for long.

* * *

The unethical nature of their relationship finally got to Richard around the time they hired Carla and Jared drew up a new harassment policy. Jared wore many hats - Head of Business Development, human resources, finance and accounting…

Jared not only enacted strict rules about sexual harassment, but there was Raviga’s rule against fraternization - the reason Richard and Monica never went on a date. Or, at least, the reason Monica gave him. Their flirting ultimately went nowhere, and Richard was fine with that.

Where was this thing with _Jared_ going?

Over at Noah’s guesthouse, Richard sat Jared down and said, “I can’t keep doing this, Jared. I’m sorry.”

Jared’s face fell. Richard hated when Jared was sad, but this had to be done.

“Oh,” Jared said. “Well, I, uh…I understand if you don’t feel comfortable with our arrangement. It _has_ been a bit…unorthodox.”

“Yeah, I feel like such an asshole for taking advantage of you. It was wrong and I’m sorry.”

Jared looked confused.

“Taking advantage?”

“Yeah, I mean, this isn’t exactly part of your job description. I hired you for your mind, not your, um…for stuff like this.”

“For what?”

“The…the _this_. All the sex…stuff.”

“Okay, I’m confused. Are you saying I’m just an employee to you?”

Richard backtracked. This was a disaster already.

“No, no, no! Look, this started out really great and now it seems kinda like I expect it or something, but that’s not it at all. I don’t expect you to come over and 'relieve my tension’ all the time, it’s…it’s not right.”

“I never thought of it as part of my job, Richard. I thought we were what’s typically called 'friends with benefits.’”

_Oh, wow, Richard, you’ve really fucked up now._

_Your mouth is gaping open. Either say something or shut it!_

“Oh.”

_Not good enough._

“But…but you don’t really _get_ any benefits.”

_Real smooth._

“Don’t I?” Jared said, and it dawned on Richard that there was more than one way to gain pleasure from sex.

Jared was always so happy afterwards, even while wiping his hands, disinfecting them with hand sanitizer. He’d started carrying a bottle of Purell and a bottle of Astroglide in his briefcase everywhere.

Richard recalled their first time in the men’s room before the investors’ meeting. It felt so very long ago. What had Jared said to him?

_It’s a privilege_.

“Oh my God, are you my boyfriend?”

_Don’t sound so shocked._

“Well, no,” Jared replied, and Richard sagged in relief. “More like a fling? If we were in a relationship, we’d have to officially disclose it, and I must admit the secrecy has been very exciting.”

Richard and Jared were sitting side by side on Jared’s bed, and Richard chose this moment to scoot closer, to place his hand over Jared’s own.

“We haven’t even kissed,” Richard said. Their eyes met, and while Jared’s lips had already explored Richard’s body _intimately_, feeling them so close to his own lips made Richard ten times more nervous.

“Do you want to?” Jared asked.

Richard closed his eyes and gave Jared a tentative peck, then a second, longer kiss. Two kisses turned to three, their mouths opening to taste, touch, and explore further. Richard lay down and pulled Jared with him. Jared didn’t want to be touched for reasons of his own, not yet, so Richard ran his hands up Jared’s back instead, pressing heated kisses along Jared’s neck. Richard’s pants stayed on this time, and lazily making out was relieving his tension as well as any orgasm. He had someone who cared deeply about his happiness in his arms. Or rather, Richard was wrapped in_ his_ arms. Comforted. Wanted. Released from responsibility, if only for a little while.

They kissed for who knows how long, losing track of time. Duty called, however. Back to work.

* * *

“I probably shouldn’t bring this up again, but part of why I was so worried you hated our 'sessions’ was something you said our first time. I asked you if you’d ever done it before, and you said–”

“Yes, it’s true, but it’s not what you think.”

“Would you feel comfortable telling me what happened?”

“It was during an internship my junior year of college. He - that is, the person I would engage in–”

“'Stress relief.’”

Jared chuckled at that.

“He wasn’t my direct supervisor. Even though we would have sexual relations, it wasn’t out of obligation. The real reason is more shameful than that.” Jared looked away. “The boy was only a year older than me, but he had influence with our professor that I did not. I was awkward and unsure of myself. I did all the work but most of the time, no one even noticed. I needed a good recommendation for my application to graduate school, and I was desperate.”

“Did you get the recommendation?”

Looking deeply ashamed, Jared whispered, “Yes.”

“Hey, hey,” Richard said, trying and probably failing to comfort him. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You did what you felt you needed to do.”

Jared nodded. “Thank you, Richard.”

“That day, uh, I kinda…I kinda thought you meant…I _hoped_ you didn’t mean…”

“It happened at Hooli?”

“Um, yeah.”

“Oh, no,” Jared said. “At Hooli they degraded me in other ways.”

Richard wrapped an arm around Jared and said, “I’m sorry about bringing up all that stuff, but–”

“No, no, I’m glad we’re on the same page now. It’s a great relief.”

Richard smiled. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

* * *

Back at the incubator, Richard gathered everyone into the living room to make an announcement. He held up the relationship disclosure form Jared had just filled out.

“So, um, this may come as a shock, but Jared and I–”

“Ugh, we _know_,” Erlich said. “You’re fucking.”

Richard blushed. “W-what?”

“We figured it out weeks ago,” said Dinesh.

“H-how did you–?”

Gilfoyle rolled his eyes. “Every time you come back from one of your 'private meetings’ with Jared, you have that 'just got fucked’ face.”

“I-I don’t have a–what does that even–”

“You know,” said Erlich. “That kinda blissed out look. You’re super relaxed, you’re smiling…”

“It’s gross,” said Gilfoyle.

“Not because you’re getting laid, but because you’re getting laid with Jared,” Dinesh clarified.

“Hey!”

“No, it’s okay,” said Jared. “I’m used to it.”

“Jared isn’t…Jared is not _gross_, okay? You guys are assholes.”

Dinesh smirked. “I bet having sex with Jared is like getting tackled by a skeleton.”

Gilfoyle chuckled. “That’s a good one.”

“Alright, that’s enough Jared-bashing for one night,” Erlich said. “We should be happy for the new couple. I made my peace with it weeks ago, after overhearing the most annoyingly polite dirty talk I’ve ever heard in my life.” It was Jared’s turn to blush and look at his feet. Erlich continued, “Two gangly nerds can do whatever they want in the privacy of Noah’s ferret house. Or, fine, Richard’s bedroom. The rest of the house is off limits and that includes the pool.”

Richard had known they’d be teased for hooking up, but their housemates’ callous remarks - and now Erlich’s new “rules of conduct” - made Richard bold enough to shout–

“Oh, yeah? Well Jared blew me in the Aviatovan!”

Erlich’s eyes widened. “You little shits! That’s _my_ van! You desecrated my van?”

“Guys, can we just calm down for a second?” said Jared. “I think we’re all feeling just a little bit stressed. But I know a few effective techniques for stress management we could try.”

_Oh, boy_.


End file.
